Nightmares
by TaintedRainbows
Summary: Ciel has been having the dreams again and though he isn't aware, Sebastian has noticed. When he finally gives in and calls his butler for comfort and protection from who might be hiding in the dark, Sebastian finds rather interesting ways to comfort his Young Master. Oneshot.


An unintentionally loud scream tore from Ciel's throat as he awoke, immediately sitting up straight, panting. As he took in the dark quiet of his bedroom, he couldn't help the trembling that started in his hands and quickly consumed the rest of his body. Pale hands were instinctively brought up to cover his face, and only then did he realize that his cheeks were damp with warm tears. He drew in a deep breath, attempting to gain control over himself as he had done every other time the nightmares plagued him.

_I won't call Sebastian. I won't do it. He can't see me like this, no matter what might be in the blackened corners of this room…_

The dark was closing in again, suffocating him. The moonlight that was usually in his window wasn't there tonight. Everything that was hiding could surely reach out and grab him now. His hands dropped from his face at that thought. Eyes widening, he moved back against the headboard of his bed, arms holding his knees close to his chest as he watched the dark with intent eyes, growing more panicked by the passing moments.

"Sebastian," he finally whispered, biting his lip to try and force the tears away before his butler could arrive. He hurriedly wiped at his eyes with shaky hands while still doing his best to keep a close vigil over the shadows that tried to grasp him when he wasn't looking.

A quiet knock, a soft light, and Sebastian appeared. The darkness receded at the demon's approach and Ciel backed away a bit more as his butler stepped to his bedside, a mockingly concerned expression taking over his features.

"Young Master?" He looked Ciel over silently. "Another dream?"

Ciel frowned at the way Sebastian was speaking to him. He wasn't a child. But he nodded regardless, choosing not to argue the point right now. "Stay here. I don't want them to get to me," he muttered, voice still somehow managing that firm tone.

Tilting his head to the side, Sebastian smirked before gently setting the candelabrum on the small table beside Ciel's bed. "You sound as if you don't trust me, my Lord. You are well aware that no harm will come to you until the contract is completed. I will not allow it."

Those eyes. The lighting, or lack thereof, made his demon's eyes shine with something Ciel couldn't quite place, but it sent an involuntary shiver through him as their eyes met briefly. He wasn't wearing his eye patch, and the violet symbol on his right eye glowed dimly with the demon so close. This was accompanied with an odd tingling sensation and immediately Ciel pulled his gaze away, shifting it instead to his blankets, which were tangled messily around him. He was still hugging his knees, and he let go of them; straightened out his legs slowly, adjusted his soft blankets.

"Of course I don't trust you. I don't see any reason I should do so, considering everything."

"Young Master, may I?" Sebastian gestured to the bed, eyes still on Ciel but his smirk gone.

There was no chance of him finding sleep again, and the usually sharp cerulean of his eyes was dulled somehow with fatigue. "Yes." He watched as Sebastian sat upon the edge of his bed.

Sebastian felt a bit wrong, sitting like this. But he wanted to take advantage of Ciel's current state as much as possible, and sitting would bring him closer to Ciel's level; would make Ciel more likely to trust the things he said.

"My Lord, would you please tell me what happens in these dreams? Even if you refused to call me before this, you must understand that my senses are beyond yours and that I knew what was happening. They have been coming to you more frequently in the past two weeks and you seem quite bothered."

Ciel scoffed. "No. The dreams aren't important," he lied, looking down. Tonight's dream was different from the others. His father was always the center of these nightmares, but this time an eight-year-old Ciel stood in one spot, watching him burn. He couldn't move, or look away. Just stare, alarmed. That was all he could feel, as if he was trapped in that one moment of shock. His father wasn't, though, and he screamed and writhed in pain, begging Ciel to save him somehow.

And when it was all burned away, it was Sebastian who stepped from the flames, unharmed and smirking as if nothing had happened. And despite everything that did happen, Ciel understood, accepted blindly that this was his father now. In his mind he knew it wasn't; he just couldn't tell his younger self the truth, no matter how loud he screamed. And then a flash of crimson, and he would drop to the burning ground, watching in a haze as Sebastian smirked as he licked the blood from his fingers and stepped away, out the door, which seemed to appear from nowhere.

Ciel, sitting up against the headboard, shivered and looked down to the side, uncomfortably silent.

Sebastian watched his Young Master closely for the tense moment, eyes flickering over his face and body. Then, seeming to come to a decision, he slowly shifted, turning so that he leaned over Ciel with his only his left knee on the bed, one hand on the pillow beside the teenager, other gently coming to hold his face.

Ciel was looking up now, up into those terrifying eyes that were staring right back into his own mismatched ones. He gasped quietly at this closeness. It was unfamiliar and odd to have someone this close after the long years of no one. He hadn't allowed anyone to get so close. He glanced down at Sebastian's lips for an instant and began trembling again, though he did not notice it. His hands rested limply in his lap and he was frozen in that place, held still by his fear and anxiousness and excitement and confusion. Sebastian's fingers were cool on his cheek and he couldn't help but lean into the touch slightly. _When did he take off his gloves?_

When Sebastian leaned in closer, Ciel felt his heart's frantic pounding and Sebastian chuckled briefly, as if he could hear it. Ciel suddenly feared that he actually could. Hurriedly he shut his eyes, not wanting to see the outcome of this. But then Sebastian's lips met his and everything else disappeared, dropped away like it had never even existed. His butler's lips were smooth and oddly warm against his own, and Ciel missed the feeling as soon as Sebastian pulled away. It was too quick, too chaste.

Taking in the dark blush on the younger boy's face, Sebastian frowned, almost disapprovingly. Ciel's eyes were still closed and his face was calm, as if he were afraid to ruin something if he changed, even in the slightest.

Below that surface of calm, Ciel was a mess of confusing, jumbled emotions that he was trying to sort out by not moving; childishly pretending that the moment wouldn't continue without his participation.

But it did continue, and Sebastian brought back his usual smirk, kissed the top of his Master's head softly as he ran his hand over the smooth skin of his face, then pulled away completely. Ciel then joined him in the present, eyes opening slowly at the absence of his butler in his bed.

"Please try to go back to sleep, My Lord. There will be a lot of work to do tomorrow, and your fiancé is coming to visit." Sebastian pulled his gloves back on and picked up the candelabrum up from where he had placed it.

Ciel blinked, silent panic setting in. Sebastian couldn't leave now. "Stay," he ordered, bringing his knees back to his chest and resting his chin atop them. His hair was disheveled and he was fighting a yawn while still trying to play his part of 'Master'. "There is no way I'll fall asleep again now anyway." _And it's your fault._

"Of course, my Lord." Sebastian set the candelabrum down again patiently, taking up his usual place against the wall and fading into the shadows almost completely.

Ciel watched him carefully, with a sort of caution, not wanting him so close anymore. Not again. Once was enough, and though his body definitely wanted what it shouldn't, his logical mind would not allow it.

_It doesn't matter what path I've chosen, or which ones I will take in the future. This man is a demon and I will not pursue a relationship with someone so deceitful and filthy, despite the possibility that his personality might mirror mine._

* * *

**A/N: And there it is! I decided I really needed something to post on here sometime before I died of old age, so I wrote this after I finished the last Soul Eater episode last night, worked for a few hours, and woke up only to get started on it again. It looks okay to me right now, but I'll go over it again later because that always improves my editing and stuff. (I beta my own shit.)**

**I feel like it's important to include a playlist of what I listened to while writing this. **  
**1. A New Hope by Broken Iris**  
**2. Forevermore by Broken Iris**  
**3. Colorful Mind by Broken Iris**  
**4. Big Yellow Taxi by Counting Crows**  
**5. Anna Begins by Counting Crows**  
**6. Rise To Me by The Decemberists**  
**7. Look After You by The Fray**  
**8. You Found Me by The Fray**  
**9. New Goodbye by Hey Rosetta!**

**I put songs on repeat sometimes too, so keep that in mind, or else there would be more. :3 I'm one of those people that must have music to write anything acceptable.**


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